[password] hinckley49
[status]
Exciting times! In the blink of the eye we've been launched into the future. It was 1pm Thursday the 20th and the next second it was noon on Friday the 21st. Took us a while to work out the date and times on our weather forecasts and a few other date related issues but we've got it now. As I write this it is 5:30 am Saturday the 22nd. We have 135nm to go, and expect a midday (local Sunday) arrival in Tonga. We are heading for the Vava'u island group which is in northern Tonga (closer to the equator and hopefully warm). The group is shaped like a jellyfish with its tentacles hanging south. There are 61 islands in the group surrounded by reefs and turquoise waters. This is a cruisers paradise! Probably the most popular sheltered cruising area on the planet. Like Niue, Tonga is also a breeding ground for humpback whales from June through October. It is one of the only places on earth where you can actually swim with the whales. Watching the mothers raise their calves in the prot
ected waters as well as watching the elaborate mating rituals might be in our future.[END]